The present disclosure relates generally to information handling systems, and more particularly to regulating airflow in an information handling system chassis.
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option is an information handling system. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements may vary between different applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling systems typically include a chassis which houses a variety of heat producing components. As these heat producing components provide various functions of the information handling system, they heat up, which can affect their performance and the performance of other components of the information handling system. The cooling of these components raises a number of issues.
Conventional cooling solutions for information handling systems generally include at least one fan which either draws or pushes air past the heat producing component in order to cool it off. However, because information handling systems are designed to allow the addition or removal of components in the information handling system chassis, some information handling systems may include spaces in the chassis where there are no heat producing components. In order to optimize the airflow from the fans through the information handling system chassis, blanks are then installed in those spaces in the chassis which have no heat producing components, such that substantially all of the airflow from the fan will be moving over hot heat producing components rather than through empty spaces in the information handling system chassis.
However, when a heat producing component is added to the information handling system, the blank must be manually removed and then is generally disposed of. If that heat producing component is then later removed, either a new blank must be found and manually reinstalled in the information handling system chassis, or else the information handling system risks being damaged due to the lack of a blank in the information handling system chassis and a less than optimal airflow over the hot heat producing components in the information handling system chassis.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide for regulating airflow in a chassis absent the disadvantages found in the prior methods discussed above.